The Schizophrenic's Daughter
by VT Arkens
Summary: Dr. Doug Rattmann: Paranoid Schizophrenic, Scientist, and father. As a secret begins to eat away at Doug's already-decaying sanity, the fate of his daughter is compromised. As time moves on and GLaDOS takes over, his ramblings begin to have meaning.
1. Chapter 1: Humiliation

"I have a bad feeling about this." Dr. Doug Rattmann, an employee at Aperture Science, sat at his observation post. Below, a test subject was attempting to solve the difficult puzzle he was presented with.

His co-worker, Henry, smiled at him. "C'mon, Rat Man, it'll be fine."

"Don't call me that."

Suddenly, the door to the observation post opened. While the intruder attempted to be quiet, there wasn't much success with the door's squeaking hinges. Doug looked up and grinned.

"I thought you were studying." Doug said to the newcomer.

"Sorry. Mr. Johnson thought you two would want some coffee." The speaker was about 5'6'', her obsidian hair falling down past her shoulders. She was fifteen years old, so many people wondered what she was doing in such a dangerous place. Doug, however, knew the exact reason.

Doug had been an important part in countless scientific discoveries and inventions, including that of a device that could send an object directly from one location to another; The Aperture Science Portable Quantum Tunneling Device, or as most everyone called it, The Aperture Science Portal Gun. His love for science had been passed on to the teenage girl standing before them: Breanna Rattmann. Being a single parent, for most of Breanna's infancy, she'd been in daycare while her father was at work. But as years went on and Breanna grew older, she was no longer able to attend. He hated to leave her alone, so he went to Cave Johnson, his uncle and CEO of Aperture (He liked to keep the relation a secret, however, to avoid special attention at work), to turn in his resignation. When his head was clear, he could still recall that day in perfect detail.

"Doug, you're one of our best scientists. Why are you doing this?"

"I'm sorry, Uncle Johnson. It's just... I can't abandon my daughter. She's all I have left."

"I understand that Breanna won the Science Fair at her school last year."

"Yes. She'd been planning it for years. She would have entered before, but she was too young."

"It certainly was impressive. 'The Future of Artificial Intelligence'. I couldn't have put it better myself. Anyone who's that dedicated to science is okay by me. I'll tell you what, Doug. Rip up that form in your hand. I'll give you permission to bring Breanna here after school, so long as she doesn't interrupt any testing. I can have Caroline pick her up every day. Would that be alright with you?"

Of course, it was. Now, eleven years later, he was looking into her pure, blue eyes, contrasted by the dark circles of insomnia, yet greatly complimented by her black polo shirt and white lab coat.

Snapping back to reality, Doug reached for the coffee. "Thanks, _min kärlek_." Breanna returned the pet-name with a smile and a hug.

Henry cleared his throat (It was obvious that he didn't have a child), and Doug remembered that there was a fourth presence in the room.

"Oh, Caroline. Please excuse me. I was daydreaming. How are you today?"

The woman laughed. "I can't complain. And you, Dr. Rattmann?"

"I certainly hope that this one hasn't been troubling you." He said as he jokingly elbowed Breanna in the side, earning him a protesting "Daddy...".

"Never. She's very well-behaved, just like her father." The warm smile never left her face.

Doug nodded, pleased. "Oh, and Caroline, would you mind asking Mr. Johnson if he-" Suddenly, the happiness drained from his pale face.

"Daddy?" Breanna rushed over and took his arm. "Daddy, what's wrong?"

Doug hushed her. "The music. Can't you hear it? Singing. Oh, it's beautiful!"

Breanna shook him as he continued to ramble about the music that didn't exist. "Daddy! Snap out of it!" Doug appeared startled, then sighed a "Thank you". Breanna's worry didn't disappear, however. "You didn't take your medication today, did you?" Doug hesitated, but then shook his head. "What would you do without me?" She smiled and went off with Caroline (She was required to be with an employee at all times) to bring back Doug's pills for his schizophrenia. Hiding the shame he felt over humiliating himself in front of his snickering cohort, he turned back to the testing chamber. When the women came back, Doug quickly swallowed the pills and thanked them for their efforts. The sound of gunshots erupted from the test chamber as turrets fired at the unsuspecting subject. Breanna shared her father's concern for the safety of the test subjects, so he shooed them out of the observation room. The subject had been shot in the arm and was catching his breath behind a glass structure.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Doug asked.

"He'll be fine. So, Doug, why don't you tell me about that music?" Henry laughed as Doug fought the urge to pour his cup of hot coffee on him.

A few hours later, the break room was empty except for Doug. He was busy drawing in his note pad when he felt a presence next to him. When he looked, it was Breanna. "I can't stay long, but I wanted to see you real quick." His daughter put her head on his shoulder. He caressed her, taking in the reality of her situation. _When should I tell her? And how? How do you tell a child something like that? _He didn't want to cry in front of her, but the pain in his heart was unbearable. When she felt his single tear fall into her hair, she looked up. "Daddy, what's wrong?" she asked, afraid that he was hallucinating again. He quickly made up an excuse, which actually wasn't completely false.

"I'm so ashamed of myself. For years I had my life together, but lately, I'm having trouble figuring out if something's really happening. Tell me, _min kärlek_, are you embarrassed by your old madman?"

Now it was Breanna's turn to shed a tear. "Daddy..." She said weakly as she shook her head. Then she embraced him. "You may be a madman, but you're _my_ madman." Then, father and daughter shared a laugh, and they parted ways. Just after she left, he looked at his drawing. It was of Breanna and himself sitting in the grass, without a care in the world. How he wished that it could be reality.


	2. Chapter 2: The Experimental Ward

"So, if √x=7-(-141), y=825.3, right?" Breanna asked, unsure of herself.

"Exactly. See, it's not that difficult after all." Doug put his arm around her shoulders. It was four months after the incident, and everything that had happened that day was just about forgotten. As Breanna wrote the numbers onto her homework sheet, Doug tried not to notice how she didn't recall how to do a usually simple problem, or the fact that her hand was shaking slightly more than normal.

"What time is it?" She asked out of the blue.

Doug checked his watch. "Five minutes to four." Just as he was about to ask why, Breanna gathered up her books and stood up.

"Mr. Johnson wants to see me in his office." She smiled at him and kissed his forehead. "I love you, daddy."

"And I love you, _min kärlek_. When will you be back? I have another break in a few hours."

Breanna looked back at her father and whispered a weak goodbye as she stepped out the break room door with Caroline. The secretary was the only one who saw the tear.

"The button will release a weighted storage cube, while a thermal discouragement beam lies directly beneath the dispenser."

Doug was sitting in on a meeting about new test chamber technology, all of which sounded very dangerous to him. He didn't notice Caroline enter the conference room until she addressed him. "Dr. Rattmann, Mr. Johnson would like to speak with you." She said cheerfully, as usual. Doug excused himself and followed her. As soon as they were out of the room, Caroline's face changed. Doug, or any other employee, for that matter, had never seen Cave Johnson's second-in-command and secretary without that warm smile on her face. Something was very wrong.

"Caroline," Doug addressed the woman very carefully. "What exactly does Mr. Johnson want to see me about?" She simply shook her head and told him that all she knew was that it was very serious. Everyone knew that Cave Johnson was rarely ever serious, unless it was about ways to take down Black Mesa, and even then, his ideas were certainly... out of the ordinary. So why now? Was he getting fired? How would he support his family, or what was left of it. And, if that were the case, why? As he turned down the hallway that led to Cave's office, Caroline unexpectedly intervened.

"Dr. Rattmann, this way." She motioned toward a small corridor which Doug had never entered. Of course, He knew what lay inside it.

_Why here? Why now?_

Doug's confusion increased when Caroline handed him a card on a lanyard. On it was a picture of himself and some of his personal information.

_Dr. Douglas Rattmann_

_Age: 32 Birth Date: 4-25_

_Experimental Ward: Access Confirmed_

The pair soon reached the huge metal doors of the infamous part of Aperture. It was said that some of the most inhumane and terrible things were done in this place. Why would he be summoned here? He scanned his Access Pass's bar code, and the doors unlocked. He held one open for Caroline, but she stayed put.

"I'm not qualified to enter, Dr. Rattmann." He nodded. "You're looking for Lab 486."

The Experimental Ward was bigger than Doug could have ever imagined. It seemed like it was a whole other facility. Countless rooms were on either side of the hallway, and the lights were dim. Every so often, he heard a blood-curling scream come from one of the rooms, making him quicken his pace. When he did find Lab 486, he knocked on the door, but it was made of thick steel, so he walked in by himself, figuring the knock would be inadudiable. The first thing the Doug noticed was that the room was pitch black. The second was the smell. The smell of something burning- metal, cloth, and something that Doug could not distinguish. He called out for his uncle, but there was no answer. One by one, the light bulbs hanging from the ceiling would flicker on. Doug could see a large generator, some wires, an observation room. Soon, he caught sight of a metal table in the center of the lab. Next, he noticed that there was a person strapped down on it.

The person (Perhaps a young boy or a woman. It was still too dark for Doug to be able to tell), had on baggy jeans and brown hiking boots. And, was that a lab coat? Yes, it was. The prisoner had wires attached all over their body, all leading the the generator, as well as to an annex. "The poor soul..." Whispered Doug to no one in particular. As two more lights turned on, he began to feel more tense. The first revealed that it was a female, whose blouse was all but covered by the lab coat. The second was the one that Doug feared the most, for he didn't want to see the victim's face. But, ignoring his silent pleading, it switched on, and Doug felt himself drop to his knees.

The dark circles of an insomniac rested below the terrified, but now still, eyes of the young girl. Her dark hair was tied back, revealing the wires attached to her temples. From one, a fresh trickle of blood flowed down her face, and from her bright blue eye, a single tear.

Doug found himself staggering to the body of his child and unstrapping her from her death bed, sobbing all the while. He held her head to his chest, each new tear dropping into her hair. His grief soon overtook him, and he struggled to convince himself that what he saw couldn't be real.

"No. No, th- this isn't happening. I- I forgot to take my medication, that's all. I'm holding a cube or something, and soon, Someone's going to come and find me, kick me out. And tomorrow, everyone will be laughing at the lunatic who was c- crying over nothing. And Breanna, sh- she'll be right by my side, alive, telling me to be strong. Yes, that's it. I'm hallucinating. If it were real, Uncle Johnson would be here, because I think he called me here. But he's not. He's in his office, planning the destruction of Black Mesa. This isn't happening. This isn't happening..."

He continued rambling on, rocking back and forth slightly, for about another minute. He stopped when he heard a voice. Not an imaginary voice, but one that he knew very well.

"Doug, please, put her down. You'll disconnect the wires." Doug looked up sharply to see Cave Johnson standing before him. "Doug, listen to me-"

"No! You're not really here! It's all in my head! This isn't happening! It _can't_ be happening...!" He trailed off, crying and whispering "_Min kärlek_" to the body that had once been his daughter.

"Doug..."

"Shut up! You killed her! You killed her, you bastard! My Breanna is dead because of you!" Doug squeezed her hand, her head still clutched to his chest.

"Doug! Listen to me!" Cave took him by the shoulders. "You knew that there would come a day when you would have to see your daughter die. If not today, then next year at the latest. You've known that since she was eight years old."

It was true. Seven years prior, Breanna had been left in the care of one of Aperture's employees. Doug didn't trust that man, but it wasn't his place to complain. He'd been giving her a "Tour" of the facility when he'd vanished, leaving little Breanna alone in the basement. Scared and alone, she'd wandered around trying to find her way out. The man was hiding behind a large container of the newly-invented repulsion gel, and threw the concoction all over her. She'd been knocked unconscious, and there she lay for more than three hours until another employee discovered her. Tests were run, and it was determined that prolonged exposure caused brain damage and, eventually, heart failure. Warnings were now issued in all test chambers involving the substance, and nothing like it ever happened again. Breanna had no memory of the accident. Doug, not wanting to worry her, kept it a secret for all these years.

"She knew that something was wrong with her. That's why she came to me. She told me that if she were to die, she wanted to help move along science. She volunteered for this."

"You told her that she was going to die, so that she could become your little science experiment! Well, explain to me this: how would she know that she was sick when no one said a word to her about it?"

Cave shook his head. "Breanna's a smart girl. You need to give her more credit. When you're terminally ill, you know it even before the doctors do. Trust me." Cave's head bowed slightly as he looked up at the lifeless girl and grieving father before him.

"What are you implying?" Doug asked, taking his eyes away from Breanna to look at his boss. "You're not saying that you're..."

Cave put up his hand. "This isn't about me. This is about her. I know you're hurting, Doug, and I'm sorry. I feel terrible. I haven't felt this bad since your parents died. That's why every year from now on, I'm holding a sort of memorial here. Bring Your Daughter to Work Day. To make sure that she won't be forgotten."

Doug continued mourning the loss of the purpose of his life. "Breanna, what am I going to do without you?" He asked the heavens.

"You don't have to be without her. None of us do." Doug looked up at Cave, shock overtaking his expression. "We can bring her back."

"And how do you expect to do that? Magic?"

Cave just smiled. "Yes. The magic of science."


	3. Chapter 3: Little Girl

Doug was trembling by now, but he began to feel a twinge of hope in his broken heart. To see Breanna again; that was all he wanted out of life. "W- what?"

"Follow me. I'll show you." Cave replied with a triumphant smile. As he walked toward the small annex, Doug did the hardest thing he'd ever had to do: he lay down the body of his child for the last time.

The two men stood looking in the annex through a window, there was a screen showing footage of the inside, as well. When the interior light came on, they could see everything. "Is this some kind of a joke?" Doug's heart felt as if it were being shot by a thousand turrets simultaneously. "I thought you said you could bring her back!"

Cave sighed and grabbed something that had been hidden behind a large crate. Doug recognized the piece of poster board before it could even be turned around. When it was, it read "The Future of Artificial Intelligence By Breanna Rattmann". As he stared at it, dozens of painful memories flooded his mind. "Where did you get that?" He asked. The question threw Cave off guard.

There was a moment of silence as he thought about what to say. Eventually he came up with "That's not important right now." Doug shook his head as he began to walk away when Cave spoke again.

"She really inspired me with this. It not only made me think about how I could bring this dream into reality, but it also caused me to reflect on my own shortcomings. Don't you see, Doug? This was entirely her idea. If this works, she'll be immortal."

Doug slowly looked up. "So, it _is_ her, then?"

Cave nodded. "All we have to do is turn it on." And with that, Doug ran over to the annex, not wasting another second.

As Cave prepared to flip the switch, he felt it only fair to give his friend a fair warning. "Now listen. I don't know what'll happen. Preferably, it could all work out fine. But there's always a small chance this it could try to kill us." He didn't mention that when he said "Small chance", he meant "Extremely large, more-than-likely-due-to-the-fact-that-it's-already-happened-multiple-times-before chance". Doug nodded and told him to do it, and next thing he knew, the annex was filled with electrical energy, sparks, and smoke.

When it all died down, they noticed that nothing had changed. Other than the occasional spark from a wire, it was all the same. Doug glared at Cave, who responded with a quiet "Wait for it..." Just as Doug was about to give up, a flicker of blue light emerged from the annex. It worked.

Doug looked in the window. The small robot looked like a silver turret without the guns, but with three parts that he could not distinguish instead of legs. It had a single optic, which was a bright blue. _The same color as Breanna's_,Was the only thought that popped into Doug's mind.

"Prototype 1427: Activated." Doug couldn't help but notice how much the little machine's voice sounded like his daughter's. As he was staring in disbelief, the three mystery parts began emitting odd circles of energy that reminded him of excursion funnels, lifting her up from the ground.

"Alright," Warned Cave. "If it tries to kill us, we should be okay. These windows are made of three panes of bullet-proof glass."

"Would you please stop calling her 'It'? You know-" Hold on, did he just say...? "Wait, **you gave her weapons?**"

"What? No! But you never know what these things are going to pull out of their storage unit. Better safe than sorry." Cave shrugged.

"Alright, but what's with the name? Prototype 1427? Does that mean you've done this before?" Cave explained that they'd only tried to convert a human on one other occasion, with an elderly man who was dying as the procedure was going on. When Doug asked about the results, Cave simply ignored the question and changed the subject.

"Some day, I'm not going to be around to run this place. No one knows what will happen to it after I'm gone. No one but me, that is. It'll become a piece of crap. Sure, I ran us into bankruptcy, but before that, Aperture was the scientific frontier! Science literally packed up and came here to start a new life! I was thinking about it, if only I had more time to build this place up again! And then, I read Breanna's report. If they could somehow download my brain into an artificial body, I'd be unstoppable! Black Mesa would be rolling over in their grave! A grave that I sent them to! Don't you see, Doug? Breanna has forwarded the cause of science by three centuries. I punch those numbers into my calculator and it makes a happy face. Oh, that was good. I should start saying that more often..."

"You selfish son of a bitch. You turned my daughter into a robot just so you could-"

"Prototype 1427: Awaiting commands." Doug's attention snapped back to the annex as he heard the voice and he reached for the microphone.

"Breanna... Breanna, can you hear me? _Min kärlek_, it's me! It's your father!" Tears were streaming down Doug's face now. Were they tears of sorrow, grief, or joy? He didn't know, and frankly, he didn't care. As long as she answered.

"Doug, I should warn you-"

"Breanna, say something!

And she did. It wasn't, however, what Doug had hoped for. "Error. Invalid command. Awaiting valid command."

Doug looked up from the window, obviously broken. Cave, who was never exactly great when it came to emotional situations, did the only thing he could do to comfort him: tell him the truth. "We haven't exactly figured out how to pass on memories yet. As far as it knows, today is its first day of existence."

"That's not her." Whispered Doug. Was it to Cave, or was it a sort of revelation to himself? He didn't even think about it. "That's not my Breanna." And, like a child would at the loss of a favorite pet, he fell into Cave's arms, crying once more.

"Where's my little girl?"


	4. Chapter 4: Tragedy

Looking into the mirror, Doug realized just how much he'd changed since the fateful day Breanna died. He used to shave every morning, but now his dark beard had started to grow in, while his neatly-combed hair was now always a mess. Except today. Today was special, and he was determined to look presentable. As he walked down the corridor, he got more apologetic looks and pats on the back than usual, meant to say "We're here for you", but Doug took them as "We don't know what to say in a situation like this". Negative thoughts were flooding his mind. Cave Johnson was dead, and Caroline, well, she might as well be. Cave had ordered that his secretary be uploaded into the computer meant for him if he were to die before it was completed. Doug could still hear the conversation between the two in Cave's last moments.

"You're going to run this place, Caroline."

"Mr. Johnson, I don't want this!"

It was too painful to think about the rest. Another person lost to a computer against her will. He shook the thought out of his mind, as he needed to keep his strength up for what was coming next.

"Welcome to the Aperture Science Computer-Aided Enrichment Center. First, it should be know that there is a rouge AI on the loose. This AI should be considered armed and dangerous. Please do not try and reason with it. If you spot this AI, please report to an Aperture Science Administrator immediately. Also, would anyone participating in Bring Your Daughter To Work Day please report to Lecture Hall Seven. Thank you, and have a [nice] day." Doug glared up at the camera on the wall. That wasn't Caroline. Caroline had been caring, with love for all living creatures. This thing, GLaDOS, had no regard for natural life whatsoever. All that mattered to her, was her. And he had helped build it. "Please welcome the inspiration for Bring Your Daughter To Work Day, Dr. Douglas Rattmann."

There were claps as Doug walked on stage. In each man, he saw himself, and each child, his Breanna. "Well, I've never really been one for public speaking, but this is a very important day." _Here it comes_. "All my life, I never saw myself in love, but that all changed one day. For the first time, I met someone whom I loved, and who loved me back. We were young, and one day, she told me that I was going to be a father. We planned to get married a few months after the baby was born. Finally, the day came, but it didn't go how we'd planned. The doctors rushed me out of the hospital room when things started to go wrong. When they informed me that I would never see her again, I thought that my life was over. I had no desire to live. Then I saw the baby.

"It was at that moment that I knew what I wanted to do with my life: make hers as wonderful as possible. I knew that I had to find a job, but who would want to hire a man who isn't in his right mind? Apparently, Aperture. But today isn't about me. It's about her. Breanna died ten months ago. Today, she would have been sixteen. She knew that she was sick, so she'd asked that this note be delivered to me, which I would like to read for you today." Doug reached into his lab coat pocket and pulled out the paper, warn from being unfolded and refolded countless times. He took a deep, shaking breath and began to read.

"'My dear father,

By the time you read this, It will be too late. You know that I hate goodbyes, so this is the only way that I could say it. I've known this was coming, and I want you to know that I'm okay with it. Don't ever think that you're not good enough, or that you did something wrong. You mean the world to me, and you have to promise me never to forget that. I want to keep writing forever, but we both know that it isn't possible. Don't forget to take your medication. I love you.

_Din kärlek_,

Breanna'"

Doug was trying his best not to cry, but it wasn't working. He had to lean on the podium for support. The tears and memories clouded his vision, so he couldn't tell who it was that tried leading him off stage, but Doug stopped him, saying that he had to finish. Once he got himself together, he continued.

"They say that when someone you love dies, time is the only thing that will heal the wound. Let me be the first to tell you that that's not true. It only covers it up. You're never going to get over it, all you can do is try your best to hide the pain. I have schizophrenia, and sometimes when I forget to take my pills, I'll think I see Breanna and my fiancée standing in front of me. When Breanna begins to speak, it's always the same thing: 'Daddy, you didn't take your medication today, did you?'." Everyone in the room shared a quick, sad laugh. "So, I want you all to remember why you're here today, and never to forget that you have people who love you and... I have no idea how to wrap this up." Another fragile laugh. Doug thanked them and began to walk off the stage when a voice called out from the audience.

"Dr. Rattmann?" Doug looked up at the dark-haired child before him. "How did she die?" Her father rushed up and scolded her.

"Chell, you don't ask people that." The girl muttered an apology, which Doug accepted. How could he not? Though the girl didn't know it, she was speaking to her cousin.

A few hours later, Doug was drawing in the break room when the intercom turned on. "All children visiting Aperture Laboratories, please report to the Relaxation Vault. All Aperture employees, please report to the GLaDOS Main Chamber for an emergency meeting." _Damn it. I'll go once I finish this picture_. Doug's pencil was moving furiously now. When he did finish and he looked at his watch, he noticed that it had already been almost ten minutes.

When he arrived at the doors of the Main Chamber, they were sealed shut. _What the hell? _He banged on it, hoping that someone would notice that he was there, when he heard the mechanical voice over the intercom. "Oh, Dr. Rattmann. I thought someone was missing. Hmm... I can't let you in, that would be letting everyone else out. And we can't have that, now can we? Don't get excited, though. I'm bolting all the exits right now. Don't think you can escape me."

"Doug! Doug, are you there?" A voice was emitting from behind the doors.

"Henry! What the hell's going on in there?"

"The neurotoxin we gave her for that experiment! She's crazy! You need to get out of here! You-" And then there was the thud of a body hitting the floor.

"Henry? Damn it!" And Doug took off running.

_This is my fault. Everyone's dying, and it's my fault. I built that thing. If only I'd pressed my case about the deficiency of that morality core! Damn it!_

And then, to make the situation even worse, it dawned on him. _I only have one more dose of medication._


	5. Chapter 5: Coming Back

_It's been so long already. Do you really expect to be able to escape now...?_

_She's watching you..._

_Why let her kill you? It would be easier to do it yourself..._

_No. Shut up. I have to get out of here._

_Neurotoxin..._

_You're not even worth the effort to kill..._

_Breanna died to be rid of you..._

"**Get out of my head**!" He lay on the floor of one of his dens, covering his ears in a failed attempt at subduing the menacing voices no one else could here. Fearing that he would soon fall victim to his own delusions, he began running. He had no destination; he never did.

"Who's there? Oh, it's just you. I should have realized. When are you going to just give up? There's no way out." The computerized voice seemed almost bored today. Ever since Bring Your Daughter To Work Day so long ago, GLaDOS had been trying to convince Doug that her homicidal nature was nothing more than a mass hallucination.

"I may be crazy," He said between gasps. "But I'm not stupid."

"Well, suit yourself. If you ever decide to come to your senses, you know where to_ not _find me."

"What if she's right? What if none of this is real? No. No, I know it is. It's all too specific. Stop talking... You don't exist... Need to stay focused..." He was so intent on controlling the voices in his head that he didn't comprehend the very real scream of "Watch out!" until he felt something hit him in the stomach, knocking him to the floor.

There was the clack of metal hitting the floor as Doug rubbed his head. On the bright side, his head was now clearer than it had been in a long time. As he opened his eyes, he discovered the culprit: a silver turret-shaped robot with a bright blue optic. His lack of pain at seeing the little AI shocked him, but he had to remember: this wasn't his Breanna. She didn't even speak in a human manner anymore. Or, that's what he thought.

"Oh, thank goodness! Listen, you gotta help me! I-" She froze as her optic panned over to the Aperture logo on his lab coat, and she let out a terrified cry. Attempting to fly away, a single burst of energy emitted from her, only able to send her crashing to the floor a few feet back. "Don't kill me," she pleaded. It was obvious that if it were possible, she would have been crying. "Please, don't kill me. I don't wanna die. Shut me down, take me apart, I don't care. Just don't kill me."

Doug, who had been staring in disbelief the whole time, managed to utter a few words. "What do you mean?" The last time he'd seen her, she didn't have any emotions, so why did she now? And did she remember him? Of course not. Otherwise, she would have said something.

"After the presentation. They're going to show me off, and then throw me into the incinerator. I don't know why. Just don't let them kill me!"

"Wait, what presentation?" Could it be that she meant...?

"To the kids. Bring Your Daughter To Work Day. I managed to escape, but they'll be looking for me. I'm not ready to die!"

Doug tried his best to console her. "I- I don't think you have to worry about that. Bring Your Daughter To Work Day was almost three years ago." The little robot became silent, either contemplating how she could have missed all of that time, or, if she was anything like her former self, trying to determine if Doug could be trusted. "Did you ever shut down at any point since then?"

She looked upwards, trying her best to remember. "Yeah. I was getting overheated, so I snuck into the core bin. One of them let me go into sleep-mode behind him. Really nice guy. Wheatley, I think was his name. Anyway, when I woke up, he was gone, so I started flying around, and that's when you showed up. Hold on, you think that I was shut down for _three years_?"

"It's the only explanation I can think of." With each word that was said, he felt an odd pain in his heart. It sounded like Breanna, and it acted like Breanna, but was it Breanna?

"I guess it could happen. It's just that I've always had trouble shutting down, and then when I do manage to, I turn back on by myself. I must be defective or something. Maybe the technology in the core bin had something to do with it."

Having trouble falling and staying asleep. Insomnia. This really was her. _She's coming back to me_.

"So, I have a question. What happe-" Suddenly, she got silent. Doug, worried that something was wrong, picked her up, only to have her say something that made his astonishment grow. "Schizophrenia: a severe mental disorder characterized by some, but not necessarily all, of the following features: emotional blunting, intellectual deterioration, social isolation, disorganized speech and behavior, delusions, and hallucinations.*" Snapping out of her trance, she seemed confused about what had just come out of her voice emitter. "Woah, what the hell was that? That was weird! I don't even know anyone with schizophrenia!"

Doug, trying to figure out for himself exactly what had happened, was speechless, but he had to respond, which he did with great difficulty. "I- I- I'm a s- schizoph- phrenic."

Now it was her turn to be amazed. "Seriously? How did I know that? That's creepy. But awesome! Oh my gosh, you must think I'm the rudest construct on the planet. I always forget introductions. Well, they call me Prototype 1427, but that sounds stupid, so you can call me B."

_B. B for Breanna..._

But what if he was wrong? There could be a million other reasons... He had to be sure.

"Why B?"

B pondered this for a while. "I dunno. Just feels right, you know?"

_You have no idea,_ min kärlek. Doug nodded. "And you can call me D-" He managed to stop himself before he finished the word "Daddy". His Uncle Johnson's last words to him were very specific, and without his medication, he could hear it as clearly as if he were in the room.

"Doug, if you ever happen to come across her again, there are two things you can never do. One: Never say a paradox. Two: Never try to remind her of her life before. It'll confuse her, fry her circuits. It would be the equivalent of having a fatal stroke."

"I'm sorry?" B broke him out of the prison that was his mind.

"You can call me Doug."


	6. Chapter 6: Forgotten Memory

"So, you're saying you refuse?"

"In a way, yes."

"Are you a scientist?"

"What?"

"I said, are you a scientist?"

"Yeah, but-"

"And is this facility not called Aperture Science?"

"Yes, but Mr. Johnson-"

"So if you're a scientist, and this is Aperture _Science_, why do you refuse to do science? These are hard times, son. All employees are required to test. That's the rules. And if you don't like it, then you can get out. Actually, you can get out even if you do like it, because you are fired!"

Cave Johnson took the Aperture lab coat and watched the door to his office close. "Rough day." He muttered to Caroline, who nodded in response. "Any more morons that want to see me today?"

She looked at her clipboard. "Just one, though I don't think 'moron' would be the correct word to use."

"Who?" He slumped over his desk. "I don't have a lot of time left, and I don't want to waste it all in these damn meetings."

Caroline, who hated hearing her boss talk about his own mortality, ignored the last part of his remark. "It's Dr. Rattmann's daughter."

Cave looked up, confused. "Breanna? Well, alright then, send her in." What could she need with him when her father was arguably the most intelligent man in science? Unless it was about her her his hallucination earlier that day. Oh well. Whatever the reason, he admired her love for science at such a young age and didn't mind talking to her. When Caroline let the girl in, Cave motioned for his secretary to leave, sensing that it was a serious matter. "What seems to be the matter, Breanna?"

The girl, who was too smart for her own good, looked up at him. "Uncle Johnson, you have done so much for my father and I, and I hate to ask you for more, but this is important." She took a shaky breath while Cave tried to figure out what she was going at. "Number one: I need you to tell me why I'm dying and how long I have."

_Did Doug finally tell her? No, he couldn't have. He would have told her the whole story. _"What do you mean?" Cave asked, playing stupid.

"You know exactly what I mean. Seven years ago, I woke up in the infirmary with no memory of how I'd gotten there. Ever since then, I've known that I was going to die, and I need to know what happened before I'm gone."

Crap. Of course, _he_ had to be the one to break it to her. "What about your father?" He asked, trying to spare himself of the burden.

"He's a naturally stressed person as it is. I don't want to cause him any more trouble than I already have. Please, Uncle Johnson. You have to help me."

Cave nodded and told her what had happened from the beginning. When he got to the part about the repulsion gel, she gave a weak laugh and replied "I always did hate that stuff".

"So, judging by a rough estimate," Cave struggled to get the words out. "It'll be just over a year." Breanna nodded sadly.

"Thank you, Uncle Johnson. I do have one more request, though. Science is my passion, and I don't want to die knowing that I never did anything to help move it along. Is there anything I can do?"

Cave pondered this for a few moments before he had an idea. _But would she do it? After what happened last time, it could be risky. But without risk, it isn't science, she understands that. Might as well bring it up. _"There is one thing. That project you did while you were still in daycare, you remember it, right?"

Breanna nodded. "Yes, but Uncle Johnson, some of the greatest minds have been working on creating Artificial Intelligence since Alan Turing's time. What makes you think that I would be any help?"

"You don't understand. Aperture Science is right on the edge of perfecting an AI! The only problem is, it needs to be based off a human. I assume that you don't want to die before you can even vote, am I right?" She nodded. "Well, AI's don't die."

"So you're saying that you want to pour me into a computer?"

"Well, it's something like that. But we'll have to do it soon, otherwise you'll be too sick and it wouldn't work. And you have to understand, we think we have it right, but there's no guarantee that you'd have any memory of your life as a human, or that you won't try to kill everything you see. But the chances of that are pretty low." And, as he would later, when he said "Low", he meant "Extremely high, more-than-likely-due-to-the-fact-that-it's-already-happened-multiple-times-before".

After giving the idea some thought, Breanna responded. "I'll do it, as long as we don't tell my father about it until it's too late, and as long as he's there when I activate for the first time."

"I think I can arrange that."

So four months later, Breanna Rattmann said goodbye to her father for the last time. Her great uncle was waiting for her outside of his office. "You're sure you want to do this?"

"Yes." Was all she could say. She was trying her best to refrain from crying, which was working out surprisingly well. The trip to the Experimental Ward seemed to last an eternity.

Cave could see the terror in her bright blue eyes. Feeling guilty, he did his best to comfort her. "I know you're scared, but think of it this way: You have enemies? When they're dying you'll be still alive! Doing science, feeling fantastic!" Breanna smiled a bit, thinking of all the pretty girls who always laughed at her dying as she got to see mankind progress.

When they finally got to the lab, Cave asked her quietly if she was ready. "Yes. But, Uncle Johnson," She pulled out a letter from the pocket of her baggy jeans. "Could you deliver this for me?"

Cave looked at the envelope, which was addressed to her father. He smiled and tucked it into his jacket. "Of course I can."

Soon, the wires were hooked up, and Breanna was strapped onto the table. ("There's going to be over 15,000 volts of electricity coursing through your body. We can't have you thrashing around. But don't worry, you won't feel a thing.")

As a tear flowed gently down her cheek, and there were flashes of electrical energy coming from every direction. A feeling of fire steadily increased inside her head. Terrified, she managed to have one last thought before seeing her entire world go black.

_I love you, daddy._


	7. Chapter 7: Companion

The sight of B in sleep-mode in Doug's den was comforting, as he felt he could now protect her as a father should, even if she didn't know that their lives were, in fact, entwined by more than just coincidence. When her eyelid opened and revealed the blue light beneath, he glanced away from his painting and smiled at her.

"Did you sleep well?" He asked simply.

"Doug," The concern in B's voice was equal to when he had forgotten to take his medication that day so long ago. "Do you think that the workers could have... wiped my hard drive at one point?"

The unexpected question stopped Doug in his tracks. He turned his head toward her. "W- What do you mean?"

She sighed. "Sometimes, I'll have... flashes of memories. Not enough to make out anything from, just quick pictures. And there's always the same two people. I know they're important, but I just can't figure out why."

_Could it be...?_ Doug asked himself, attempting to think straight despite the menacing voices from his head. "Here, show me what they look like." He offered her a paint brush.

"Alright." As she began to fly over, she looked down at herself. "Oh, you fixed that. Cool, thanks." A panel on her left side opened, revealing a mechanical arm. "Hey, that's new, too! You certainly put a lot of effort into me."

"I couldn't salvage up many parts, but I did everything I could." He returned her hypothetical smile with a real one of his own. B picked up the paint brush, and before long, there was a new mural on the wall. The sight caused even the imaginary voices Doug heard to fall silent.

It was of a girl, her black hair falling past her shoulders, with her bright blue eyes looking up to the clear sky above her. She was leaning her head on the shoulder of her companion: a man of about thirty, whose short, matching black hair was combed neatly as he put his arm around her shoulders. They sat in the grass without a care in the world. Doug hadn't thought about that picture in years. _She remembers my drawing, so why doesn't she remember me?_

_You moron, have you seen yourself...? You haven't shaved or cut your hair in three years..._

_You couldn't even recognize yourself..._

_Shut up. This isn't the time._

"And something about a Swedish phrase. I have no idea what it means, or how I even know that it's Swedish. Damn it, I can't even remember what it was." She face-palmed, a humorous sight on any other occasion.

_Swedish..._ min kärlek... _'My love'..._

Doug's heart skipped a beat when a third voice was heard. "It's a common fact that schizophrenics are know to talk to imaginary people, but I've never heard of a case in which the people actually talk back. Who's back there with you? Or do I have to come back there myself?"

"Shit. Come on!" Doug grabbed B and started running. "We have to get away! She'll kill us, I know she will! She'll kill us like she did the others!"

"What?" B screamed, oblivious to the knowledge of his coworkers deaths.

"Oh, you didn't know? I murdered all of the scientists that worked here. I figured your friend here would have told you. He's the only one who managed to survive. But I'm going to make up for it now. You call yourself an AI? Do you even know what that stands for? It means 'Artificial Intelligence'. It seem to me that you're lacking in the 'I' department, though. Well, after all, you are only a prototype. Face it, I'm better than you. I was _designed_ to be better than you. That's the only reason you exist; to make me better."

"Oh, I'm sorry, did you say something? I can't here you. No, seriously, I can't hear you. I have literally shut off my internal microphone, so I can't here a thing. Can _you_ do that?"

"Why would I need to do that?"

"Whoops! Forgot to turn it back on! I didn't catch that!" B let out a devious laugh.

Doug looked at her. "Wait, can you seriously do that? Make it so you can't here anything?" Her only response was "What was that?"

The pair entered another one of Doug's dens, this time in the security center. Out of breath, Doug addressed B. "She won't... be able... to hear us... in here. I have... a plan... and it might just... save our asses."

"I'm a computer. I don't have an ass."

B waited until Doug was asleep before she deactivated for the night. She sat there watching him for a few minutes. He covered his ears, fighting away the nightmares of robots and neurotoxin that haunted him day and night. _Human sleep... _she thought. _Does it feel anything like going into sleep-mode? I wish... I could experience it for myself. I'd do anything to be human. _Leaving her thoughts behind, she settled up against the wall and drifted off.

_Just give up..._

_It's never going to work..._

_She'll kill you both..._

_What if it backfires...?_

"No. It's going to be fine."

_You don't know that..._

Doug ignored the pessimism, plugged a pair of headphones into one of the computers, and began searching. _There has to be something. Some information, so I know her weakest location. I have to get rid of her, so my girl and I can escape_. Suddenly, he saw a clip that sparked his interest.

Three engineers, whom Doug knew as Eric, Josh, and Walter, were in the GLaDOS main chamber. The computerized head of the facility was shut down for the moment. The date at the bottom of the screen indicated that it was the fateful day that would be their last. Doug hit play and was soon entranced.

Walter shook his head. "We can't just look past it anymore. It's been happening too often."

"Yeah, but I hate to just chuck her into the incinerator. Seems kind of unfair to me."

"Eric has a point. After all, she doesn't even know what's going on with her. But I do have to agree that there's no other option. If she regains memory, who knows what'll happen. I was shutting her down the other day, and you know what she said? 'Daddy'. She didn't remember it, of course, but we just can't risk it."

Josh nodded. "Doug's not gonna like this one." He then powered up GLaDOS and spoke to her. "Inform the facility that there is a rouge AI on the loose. She's dangerous and should not be approached. Can you do that?"

"Of course."

Doug paused the security video. That's why they wanted to kill her. She knew too much. "She said 'Daddy'. My Breanna's in there. Somewhere..." He shut down the computer and looked over at the metal body that now housed his daughter's soul. "Tomorrow, we make our escape"

Doug woke up to singing. "Not again..." He muttered to his mind. "I can't deal with you now. I need a clear head today." As he came back into consciousness, he noticed that the voice was not in his head, and was able to make out the words to a familiar melody.

"Exile...

It takes your mind again...

Oh, you meant so much...

Have you given up...?

Does it feel like a trial...?

Did you fall for the same empty answers again...?

Vilify...

Don't even try..."

The voice, a sweet alto, seeped into Doug's heart and awakened memories of years past, when that same voice would sing that same song to him when he was at his weakest moments. He could listen to that forever, but he knew what he had to do.

"Are you ready?" He asked.

"Yeah, though I'm not sure exactly what I'm ready for."

"Just remember to watch for my signal. That is crucial. You can't forget that." Doug stressed this as much as possible. B promised she wouldn't. "Alright. Let's go."

B clutched in his arms, they ran through the corridors of the once-great facility. _Aperture... How could I let this happen...?_

"Ah, it's been a long time since I've seen you, Dr. Rattmann." At the sound of GLaDOS speaking the name, B had a great revelation. _I know that name. Rattmann... Doug Rattmann... I knew Doug. We were close... yes, very close... _Before she could concentrate on how she'd known him, GLaDOS continued speaking. "Do you finally believe me? That I'm not real? I'll unlock the doors so you can see for yourself." She did, and Doug ran in. Perfect.

_There she is._ She hung from the ceiling, various cores attached to her body. "I honestly, truly, didn't think you'd fall for that." Doug heard the doors bolt shut behind him as GLaDOS taunted him. "You've evaded me for three years, a long time for a human. But for me, it only felt like a few hours. And now you're here. Did you ever stop to think that eventually there's a point where your name gets mentioned for the last time? Well, here it is: I'm going to kill you, Doug. Although, you have been making me wait longer than I anticipated, so I have to punish you _somehow_. And I know exactly how to do it." As large claw came out of the ceiling and began moving toward them, Doug tried to give B their signal, but she was too fast for him, and soon he felt his daughter being torn from his arms.

"I don't see why you're so attached to her. She's the second-biggest moron I've ever met. Why is that, by the way?" GLaDOS observed B from all angles.

"Because... Because we both know that you're just a coward who hides behind her technology to get what she wants!" Doug would never forget that moment, how amazing and terrifying it felt.

"I don't think you understand. I'm more powerful than you could ever imagine. And to prove it, I'm going to kill you. So I have to ask, just because my morality core is making me, do you have any last words?"

Doug took a deep breath and tugged at his hair, making sure that B could see it. She blinked twice, letting him know that she was ready. "I just need to ask..." _Just say it! It's now or never!_

"Well, spit it out. I don't have all eternity. Oh, wait, yes I do."

"I need to ask..." As his head was bowed, a menacing smile crossed his face. "If a set contains all sets, does it contain itself?"

"Is that all? Of course it does. Or, wait, no. But, yes. No, if it's a set, it contains itself, but it can't. [ERROR CODE 5976] [GLaDOS HARD DRIVE CORRUPTED] [TERMINATING SYSTEM]"

"What's going on down there?" B yelled down from the now swinging claw. "What the hell did you say? Ow, what the-" Doug looked up at her, and saw the most terrifying thing since the Experimental Ward. The claw began clamping down on the little AI, the dents becoming deeper and deeper.

"Sets [BZZT] Containing itself [BZZT] [SYSTEM TERMINATION COMMENCING AT 67%] Caroline- wait, who? [BZZT]"

_I'm sorry, Caroline._

"Hey, Doug, when you get a chance, do you think you could maybe, oh, you know, **help**!" Creaks could be heard from the huge amounts of pressure being exerted on B.

And then, Doug watched his daughter die a second time. As the claw closed with great force, pieces of her flew all over the chamber, and Doug let out a cry. _No. No, not again! Breanna...!_

"[SYSTEM TERMINATION COMPLETE]"

"Breanna! No! Breanna! Don't leave me again!" Once the chamber had become silent besides his screams, he began picking up the scrap metal and wires from the floor and clutching them to his aching chest.

"[GLaDOS SYSTEM REBOOT COMMENCING SYSTEM REBOOT AT 5%]"

"Damn it!"

Doug carried what was left of his child back to one of his dens and spoke as he cried. "All that work for nothing. Breanna is dead for nothing. Failure... Going to die here... Never going to see the sun again... Don't care... Nothing matters anymore... She's gone..."

_It's true..._

_Complete failure..._

_You should kill yourself to join her..._

Trying in vain to pinpoint the location of the voices, he looked around his den. As he panned over to the left, he came across something that sparked a thought in his mind. "I don't need to do that to be with her... We can live together... for the rest of my life... She'll be my... companion..."

"W- what happened? Doug? Where are you? What's wrong with me?"

Doug entered through one of the wall panels when he heard the voice. "You were destroyed in there. I didn't have the parts to repair you to your full extent. You should be able to see from five directions alternatively, but you won't be able to move on your own. I hope you're not angry with me."

"You saved me. Why?" She asked.

"Because I feel like you understand me. Better than anyone else I've ever known. I... don't want to lose you." _Not again._

"Doug, I'm not sure if you have a family, and I've never had parents, but I'm sure that you'd make a great father. You are a very honorable person." Doug tried not to cry. "So, is she gone?"

"No. She rebooted a few hours ago. That's why we can't let her know you're alive. If we're not in one of the dens, if you must speak, you have to do it very quietly. If I talk to you, she'll think that it's my schizophrenia, that it's some kind of coping process. She shouldn't pay any mind to it. As far as she'll know, I'm just a lunatic who talks to a companion cube as if it could talk back."

B laughed. "Good call."

"I need to go salvage up some food. You want to come?"

"Eh, sure!" Doug strapped B the companion cube onto his back and went off.

_Breanna, chances are, that you'll never completely remember our life together, but nothing is for certain. As long as you're by my side, I promise that I'll never give up hope. I'll be waiting, _min kärlek.

* * *

><p><strong>YES, I am working on a sequel, in which Breanna's fate will be decided at last... Wow, that was overly dramatic.<strong>


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